Psalm 102:1-28
Q.1. How does it help believers to know that God planned that the Messiah would experience wrath and alienation? – (Ps.102:1-11)
The introduction to the Psalm reads: A prayer of the afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. In these verses the Psalmist revealed that even the godly can feel alienated from God and cut off from His goodness. Thus, he cried out – 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord! Let my cry for help come to You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly (Ps.102:1-2). His sentiments also presented a picture of Christ during His passion, as he referred to His groaning, His bones clinging to His flesh, and the reproach and derision of His enemies. Beyond all this, the Psalmist recognized that it is – Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, for You have lifted me up and cast me away (Ps.102:10 c.f. Ps.102:5-6; Isa.53:10). In the midst of His extreme suffering, it seemed to him that God was far from Him. We cannot look at the suffering of Biblical saints, or of Jesus on the cross, and conclude that suffering and alienation should never be experienced by the believer (c.f. Jn.15:18-19; 1 Pet.2:21; 4:12-13).
Q.2. What aspect of the character of God gives comfort and hope to God’s people? – (Ps.102:12-17)
The Psalmist derived great comfort from the belief that God is changeless, and that – You, O Lord, abide forever and Your name to all generations (Ps.102:12). He longed that the Lord would again extend His compassion to His people who find pleasure in Zion (Ps.102:13-14). His motive for his request was – so the nations will fear the name of the Lord and all the kings of the earth Your glory (Ps.102:15). He argued that this was fitting, because it was God who built up Zion as the place from which the prayers of the destitute would be regarded (Ps.102:16-17 c.f. 2 Chron.7:12-16).
Q.3. How clearly did the Psalmist foreshadow the inclusion of the other nations in God’s family? – (Ps.102:18-22)
The Psalmist saw a future time when praise will flow from others beyond the people of Israel – 18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. 19 For He looked down from His holy height; From heaven the Lord gazed upon the earth, 20 to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to set free those who were doomed to death (Ps.102:18-20). This is in line with Christ’s reference to ‘other sheep’, and Paul’s many quotations from the Old Testament about the inclusion of the Gentiles (c.f. Jn.10:16; Rom.15:7-12). It also alludes to the Millennial Reign of Christ when all the nations will worship on Mount Zion – 21 That men may tell of the name of the Lord in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem, 22 when the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord (Ps.102:21-22 c.f. Isa.2:2-3). God always had the Old Testament saints and also church saints in His future plans (Eph.2:13-16; 3:3-6).
Q.4. To what confidence did the Psalmist cling, in the midst of his trials? – (Ps.102:23-28)
The Psalmist had a clear picture of his fleeting days on earth. He asked that he might not die prematurely (Ps.102:23-24). He understood that his life was in God’s hands and that by contrast the Lord is eternal – Of old You founded the earth. The heavens are the work of Your hands … You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end (Ps.102:25 & 27). He knew that everything was destined to perish and change (Ps.102:26 c.f. 1 Cor.15:51-52). However, he was comforted to know that God’s children have a future with Him in heaven – “The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You (Ps.102:28).